ASIAN SEMINARY FOR CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES

102 ACCM Building Valero St. Salcedo Village

Makati City, Metro Manila

ABORTION AND THE BIBLE

A theological perspective

In partial fulfillment for the course of Theological Anthropology under

the Masters of Divinity Program

By

MANUEL A. OCAMPO JR.

29 March 2012

Manila

INTRODUCTION
Man was created in the image of God. And from the Author and Giver of life, life was
given as a gift to the human race. Yet many people in todays society give less value to the
precious life which was only entrusted by the Creator. This is evident with the rising statistics on
annual number of unborn babies being aborted and killed from simple reason of inconvenience to
the complex situation of traumatic experience that happened to a woman. Indeed, abortion is one
of the controversial issues being faced not only by concerned world leaders but also by the
church. This issue divides political parties, families and churches. The controversy is based on
whether abortion can be morally accepted or condemned.
In the midst of this controversy, the church must give a clear stand based on biblical
principles and commands especially in giving great value on human life. Presently, there are two
groups contending in relation to the issue of abortion: the Pro-Life, contending against abortion
and the Pro-Choice, favoring certain measures about abortion. But as Christians, we must not
only base our position on peoples diverse opinions but on what the Holy Scriptures says.
Though we cannot find specifically the word abortion in the Bible, yet there are certain
principles found in passages that clearly argue against such practice.
This paper will look into the issue of abortion by first defining it so to make clear what
we are against while considering the statistics available to further enforce what should be the
proper stand of the church. Furthermore, this study will also look into the different procedures of
abortion and realize the horrifying practice of killing an unborn child before presenting biblical
passages where we can base our stand together with some writings of the Early Church Fathers.

What will be the feeling of taking a life? How will you fight the guilt of your own conscience if it
is you who is responsible for the death of your family member? Where will you get the courage or the
guts to take the life of an innocent child who is helpless within the womb? These are only some of the
questions that disturb my mind when I think about how abortion is carried out. There are many issues that
are controversial in our world and society today that is debated, voted, talked about and divided opinions
and one of them is abortion. Even churches of different denominations have diverse opinions about this
issue. People are even grouped into Pro-life and Pro-choice to determine whether they are against
abortion or favoring it. Critics of abortion attack the fact that despite cultural background,

abortion is wrong just as killing is wrong and stealing is wrong in any society, regardless of
cultural values.1 On the other hand, Pro-choice advocates tend to focus greater attention on
parents who do not want to have a child considering the future implications of having an
unwanted child.2
While it is true that peoples opinion regarding abortion varies depending on what
country, culture, religious belief or family orientation they are coming from, for us Christians
this issue must be dealt with by knowing what the Bible says about it. And though there are
many who will argue that in some countries abortion is legal, but to take a life is not a question
of legality but morally and theological. And in dealing with this issue, we must have sufficient
understanding on how it is done and how it affects our society at large without discounting its
moral and theological issue.
Abortion defined
According to the Merriam Webster dictionary abortion is the termination of a
pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or

Raquel Lopez, Perspectives on Abortion: Pro-Choice, Pro-Life, and What Lies in between, (European Journal of
Social Science, January 1, 2012) p. 513.
2
Ibid. p. 514

fetus.3 Another definition says, Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the
removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can
occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be
purposely induced. The term abortion most commonly refers to the induced abortion of a human
pregnancy.4 Both definitions state that abortion is the termination of pregnancy which results to
the death of the fetus. The first definition in my personal opinion looks like an innocent act
where the second one clarifies that abortion is commonly known as an intentional or an act
purposely done to kill the fetus.
So basically there are two types of abortions. One is the Spontaneous Type also known
as miscarriage, is the unintentional expulsion of an embryo or fetus before the 20th to 22nd week
of gestation. A pregnancy that ends before 37 weeks of gestation resulting in a live-born infant is
known as a "premature birth" or a "preterm birth". When a fetus dies in utero after viability, or
during delivery, it is usually termed "stillborn". Premature births and stillbirths are generally
not considered to be miscarriages although usage of these terms can sometimes overlap.5 The
other one is the Induced Type which is defined as the intentional termination of a pregnancy
before the fetus can live independently. An abortion may be elective (based on a woman's
personal choice) or therapeutic (to preserve the health or save the life of a pregnant woman).6
Now for clarification purposes, this paper will focus on the induced type of abortion because it is
where the moral issue is in question. It is also proper to recognize that a miscarriage, though a
type of abortion, is not in question if it happened unintentionally.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abortion, accessed 20 March 2012.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion, accessed 20 March 2012.
5
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion, accessed 20 March 2012.
6
http://www.surgeryencyclopedia.com/A-Ce/Abortion-Induced.html#b, accessed 20 March 2012.
4

Facts about abortion

According to the website of The Central for Bio Ethical Reform the following are the
worldwide abortion facts:7
1. Number of abortions per year approximately 46 million.
2. Number of abortions per day 126,000.
3. Where abortions occur 78% of all abortions are obtained in developing countries and
22% occur in developed countries.
4. Legality of abortion About 26 million women obtain legal abortions each year, while an
additional 20 million abortions are obtained in countries where it is restricted or
prohibited by law.
5. Abortion averages Worldwide, the lifetime average is about 1 abortion per woman.
To add to these facts, it has been said that, One out of 100 hundred women who have an
early abortion develop severe health problems, while 1 of 50 who have a late-term abortion
develop these issues. They include heavy bleeding requiring a blood transfusion, damage to
internal organs such as the bowel and bladder, sepsis, a total body infection, that can be fatal,
and scarring of the uterine lining from the use of tubes and sharp objects, which could result in
an inability to conceive and/or carry a baby in the future.8
Procedures on how abortion is done9
Many probably have no idea how abortion is done. It is horrifying to imagine how these
procedures are carried out. Accordingly, there are five procedures of induced abortion that are
being used in the United States of America and it is believed that there will be new procedures
that will be added in the future.
7

Robert H. Brom, Abortion. 10 August, 2004, http://www.abortionno.org/world.html, accessed 20 March 2012.

Hannah Rice Myers, Types of Abortion, http://www.ehow.com/about_4673244_types-abortions.html, accessed
20 March 2012.
9
Ibid.
8

The first procedure of the induced abortion is called the Manual Vacuum Aspiration.
This is done when the unborn child is literally vacuumed from the mothers womb
during the early stages of pregnancy by using a thin tube attached to a syringe.

The second procedure is the Suction Curettage type abortion which is known to be the
most common. Since it is done later in pregnancy, the doctor must stretch the cervix
with rods, due to the size of the baby, and then inserts a plastic tube that is connected
to a suction machine. Once inserted, the baby's body is and suctioned out in pieces.

The third procedure is called Dilation and Evacuation type which is considered a
second trimester abortion. Since at this stage, the baby is too big to be broken apart by
means of a suction, seaweed rods are inserted into the woman for a day or two to
stretch her cervix. Then the doctor will use forceps to pull the fetus out of the woman.
To scrape the remaining fetal parts out of the womans body, a spoon-like knife
called a curette is used.

Dilation and Extraction is the fourth method of induced abortion and can be through
full term. Like the third procedure, seaweed rods are used to stretch the cervix. Then
by using ultrasound, the doctor will locate the babys legs and pull them with forceps
together with other parts of the babys body except the head. Then the doctor will cut
into the babys skull to suction its brains making it easier to pull from the womb.

Then finally, the last one is the development of RU 486, an abortion pill from France
which is also called mifepristione in America. During the early period of
pregnancy, a woman who wants to undergo abortion will have to insert 2 to 3 pills
vaginally which will induce cramps and expel the embryo out of the womb.

Biblical reasons why abortion is morally wrong

As mentioned earlier, people have varied opinions regarding the issue of abortion. But as
Christians, we must have a strong foundation on teachings of the Holy Scriptures in order to
understand the heart and opinion of God. Though the Bible does not directly teach about abortion
it is understandable since it was an abhorrent idea in a nation where childlessness was considered
a curse. However, this does not mean that the Bible does not provide us with ample information
to understand God's view of abortion. We are created as people in the image of God (Genesis
1:27; 9:6) and the Bible indicates that babies in the womb are people. So in the light of all the
information presented above regarding induced abortion, the Bible can never be clearer that it is
morally wrong and an act of sin not only to the unborn child but to God Himself, who is the
Author and Giver of life. The following are some of the biblical reasons why abortion is morally
wrong and a sinful act.
It is murder
Biblically speaking, in reference to pregnant women, they are described as with child
and this term occurred twenty six times in the Bible. The term fetus being used today to refer
to the unborn child never occurred in the Holy Scriptures. When Elizabeth, being pregnant, was
visited by Mary, it is said that the baby leaped in her womb.10 It did not say, the fetus leaped
in her womb. The same description was used when Jesus was born in Bethlehem in a manger
when the angel said to the shepherds, you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a
manger.11 By using the same description, whether the baby is still in the womb or already born,
in Gods sight they are the same. Both are human beings with life.

10
11

Luke 1:39-45
Luke 2:12

Another reference is in Job where it says, Or why was I not hidden away in the ground
like a stillborn child, like an infant who never saw the light of day?12 Again Job referred to
unborn children as infants with life, a human being not fetuses which are considered as masses of
tissue which can be removed because of inconvenience! In Psalm 139, David said, For you
created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mothers womb. I praise you because I am
fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was
not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the
depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written
in your book before one of them came to be.13 If you will understand these words of David, he
was referring to himself; a real person with life though not yet born.
In consideration of these biblical passages, it is established that God considers an unborn
child as a person who has the right to live. In Exodus 21:22-23 it says, If people are fighting
and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the
offender must be fined whatever the womans husband demands and the court allows. But if
there is serious injury, you are to take life for life Looking at this passage, it is saying that if
the pregnant woman gave birth prematurely and the child did not die, then there is only penalty
for the offender as demanded by the offended party and judge. But if the child die, as a result of
the injury, then death penalty is required. Why the death penalty? Because God considers the
child a human being. It is clear that the life of a child begins at conception and therefore must be
treated as a human being not a mass of tissue.
It is not only the Bible that considers the beginning of life at conception but medical
science as well. If we will ask, When and how pregnancy occurs? Medical science will offer a

12
13

Job 3:16
Psalm 139:13-16

simple answer: pregnancy occurs when a sperm produced by a male fuses with an ovum
produced by a female.14 In two to seven weeks of pregnancy, the baby inside the womb develop
its spinal cord and brain while the heart take shape and begin to heartbeat. Along with these,
arms and legs will be formed also, until finally in the last week of pregnancy, a new child is born
to the world. An unborn child is clearly a human being with life and to abort it is murder.
It sheds innocent blood
For an unborn baby, there is no safe and secure place than to be in the mothers womb.
But because of abortion, the womb becomes the most dangerous place for an unborn child since
the child will be helpless while being destroyed and killed. The Bible clearly gave warning when
it comes to shedding innocent blood. It is considered as one of the seven things that are
detestable before God.15 Also in Deuteronomy it says, Cursed is anyone who accepts a bribe to
kill an innocent person.16 The baby is an innocent human being who is worthy of care and
affection. Yet our world and society became so corrupt and immoral that killing millions of
children annually is not condemned.
Years ago life was considered to end when the heart stopped beating. Medical evidence
shows that the heart is formed and begins to beat as early as the 18th day in the womb. If life was
considered to start with the heartbeat then there would be hardly any legal abortions. With
advances in medicine came the ability to detect brain waves. This is now perhaps the most
important element in deciding if life has ended. Brain waves may be detected in a fetus at around
the 42nd day in the womb. If life was considered to start with the presence of brain waves there
would be a great reduction in legal abortions.

14

M.D. Mazumdar, How does a pregnancy occur? http://www.gynaeonline.com/normpreg.htm, accessed 20

March 2012.
15
Proverbs 6:16-19
16
Deuteronomy 27:25

It de-values human life

According to Genesis 1, man and woman were created in the image of God. And God
even breathe in man the breath of life so that man became a living soul. Since God is the
Author and Giver of life, it is precious before His sight. That is why taking away a persons life
is a serious offense before God so He commanded in Exodus that Anyone who strikes a person
with a fatal blow is to be put to death.17 Yet the practice of abortion promotes de-valuation of
human life with an implied message that there is nothing wrong to take someones life. Some
may argue that the abortion was done because the mother was raped. It cannot be denied that the
experience is very traumatic and will even be intensified by seeing the child which is the result
of the crime. But still, it is not the sin of the unborn child but of the perpetrator of the crime.
Why will the child be punished for the sin of another? And as mentioned, once conceived that
unborn child is already a human being that has the right to live.
It destroys the plan of God
People engaging in immoral behavior will consider unprepared pregnancy as accident.
They will think that it was a mistake and therefore must be corrected. But as far as God is
concerned, there is no such thing as accident even if the child is conceived by a woman who is
said to be unprepared. In Gods point of view, He has a plan for that unborn child. When God
called Jeremiah to be a prophet He said to him, Before I formed you in the womb I
knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.18
What the Lord is saying to Jeremiah was that before he was even conceived, God already has a
plan, a blueprint for his life. If there is no accident with God, then just like Jeremiah, He also has

17
18

Exodus 21:12
Jeremiah 1:5

a specific plan and blueprint for an unborn child. Through abortion, it destroys the plan of God
for that unborn child which can no longer be realized.
It promotes sin
Since our world and society failed to give a strong signal against abortion, which is
proven by its legalization in some nations and being accepted by others though not recognized
legally, it encourages and promotes sin. Just like in the Philippines, though abortion is
considered illegal and there is a corresponding penalty for its violation, yet without anyone filing
a formal complaint, the law is very much passive. It does not mean also that the absence of
complaints will mean that abortion is not happening in this country. Without stricter measure to
counteract this crime, people will engage in illicit sex and live immoral lives. The story of
Sodom and Gomorrah is the best example of this.19 Since immoral life was not condemned in
these two cities, people continued to live in sin and morally corrupted themselves. It is evident
when Lot, the nephew of Abraham, invited the angels to stay in his house. Then suddenly, the
men of the town, both young and the old, asked for Lots visitors so that they can have sex with
them. So unless we make a strong signal against abortion, this kind of passive atmosphere
regarding this issue will only promote pre-marital sex resulting to unwanted pregnancies which
the unborn children will have to pay.
The Early Church Fathers position against abortion
There is a Roman Catholic website that deals with the issue of abortion which lists the
different writings of the early church fathers.20 I prefer to include some of these writings in this
paper in order to understand and learn how they view abortion during their time hoping that it
will affect our perspective.

19
20

Genesis 19
http://www.catholic.com/tracts/abortion, accessed 20 March 2012.

Didache
"The second commandment of the teaching: You shall not murder. You shall not
commit adultery. You shall not seduce boys. You shall not commit fornication. You
shall not steal. You shall not practice magic. You shall not use potions. You shall not
procure [an] abortion, nor destroy a newborn child" (Didache 2:12 [A.D. 70]).
Tertullian
"In our case, a murder being once for all forbidden, we may not destroy even the fetus
in the womb, while as yet the human being derives blood from the other parts of the
body for its sustenance. To hinder a birth is merely a speedier man-killing; nor does it
matter whether you take away a life that is born, or destroy one that is coming to birth.
That is a man which is going to be one; you have the fruit already in its seed"
(Apology 9:8 [A.D. 197]).
Basil the Great
"Let her that procures abortion undergo ten years penance, whether the embryo were
perfectly formed, or not" (First Canonical Letter, canon 2 [A.D. 374]).
Jerome
"I cannot bring myself to speak of the many virgins who daily fall and are lost to the
bosom of the Church, their mother. . . . Some go so far as to take potions, that they may
insure barrenness, and thus murder human beings almost before their conception.
Some, when they find themselves with child through their sin, use drugs to procure
abortion, and when, as often happens, they die with their offspring, they enter the lower
world laden with the guilt not only of adultery against Christ but also of suicide and
child murder" (Letters 22:13 [A.D. 396]).
With all these things in view, from the horror of abortion to the biblical arguments
against it, the church must have a clear stand against the practice of abortion. Regardless of
the reason of those who practice abortion, whether valid or not, it cannot be denied that the
unborn child must be considered as a human being and aborting them is not only morally
wrong but is sinful.

CONCLUSION
After knowing the kind of procedures that are being done in the practice of abortion,
there is the realization why it should be considered as immoral and sin against God. Yet this
horrifying practice failed to move the heart of the countless number of women who had an
abortion together with those who operated the procedure in killing innocent children who were
helpless in the womb which was suppose to nourish them. The statistics provided proved that
these people who are directly or indirectly involved in the practice of abortion is apathetic and
without compassion for the life of unborn children.
The Bible is so strong in stating that God places a great value on the life of human beings
including unborn children. It should never be forgotten that all human beings, including these
unborn babies, have the image of God in them and therefore have their own dignity and right to
live. It would be idealistic to say that every government should implement strict measures to
eventually reduce the numbers of children being aborted if not completely stop it. But the reality
is that the society we live in, together with some government, are passive towards this issue and
the silence of the church may even sent a wrong signal that we are condoning it. What the church
must do is not only speak against the practice but also educate the people, especially the youth,
so that they will also place a great value on human life just as God has declared in His word.
May every child have the chance to be like Jesus when the Bible said, And the child grew and
became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.21

21

Luke 2:40

BIBLIOGRAPHY
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20 March 2012.
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and 2006? International Family Planning Perspectives, December 1, 2008.
Lopez, Raquel. Perspectives on Abortion: Pro-Choice, Pro-Life, and What Lies in between.
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accessed 20 March 2012.
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Warren, Rick, The Purpose Driven Life, Purpose Driven, 2002
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion, accessed 20 March 2012.
http://www.abortionno.org/world.html, accessed 20 March 2012.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abortion, accessed 20 March 2012.
http://www.surgeryencyclopedia.com/A-Ce/Abortion-Induced.html#b, accessed 20 March 2012.